In Praise of Mathematics

Resumen del libro

Why bother to praise mathematics when you claim, as Alain Badiou does, that philosophy is first and foremost a metaphysics of happiness, or else it's not worth an hour of trouble? What possible relationship can there be between mathematics and happiness? That is precisely the issue at stake in this dialogue, which serves as a very accessible introduction to what mathematics is and an exploration of the crucial influence it has always exerted on the greatest philosophers. Far from the thankless, pointless exercises they are often thought to be, mathematics and logic are indispensable guides to ridding ourselves of dominant opinions and making possible an access to truths, or to a human experience of the utmost value. That is why mathematics may well be the shortest path to the true life, which, when it exists, is characterized by an incomparable happiness.

Biografía del autor

Alain Badiou fue matemático y miembro del partido Comunista antes de llegar a ser un reconocido filósofo. Ha escrito además de Filosofía libros de ficción, novelas y obras de teatro. Su pensamiento está muy influenciado por Hegel y ha incorporado algunos de sus conceptos en su Filosofía. También ha mantenido un intenso diálogo con Slavoj i ek. Sus ideas son controvertidas pero ha sido muy reconocido por su activismo político a favor de la justicia social.